First achieve immortality, then cultivate immortality.

Xu Mu and Yan Qing flew together on their swords, side by side, leaving the sect at a slow pace.

"Where are you planning to go?" Yan Qing asked casually.

Xu Mu thought for a moment and then told the truth: "Let's go back to the mortal realm first and then make plans."

"Go back to the mortal realm? You already don't have much time left, why would you go back to the mortal realm? Aren't you afraid of dying?" Yan Qing was somewhat shocked and couldn't understand what he was thinking.

Xu Mu smiled and said, "I came from the mortal realm to cultivate, and I don't have your talent. Of course, I have some fortuitous encounters. I want to go back and get some more things."

"I see. No wonder you weren't in a hurry at all. You had a plan."

That makes sense.

"In that case..."

Yan Qing's flying sword suddenly slowed down, and he hesitated.

"Senior brother, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Why be so hesitant?" Xu Mu asked.

After pondering for a moment, Yan Qing beckoned him to fly to a secluded cliff and land.

Seeing his mysterious demeanor, Xu Mu became even more curious and followed him.

"Junior brother, do you know about the incense offerings in the mortal world?" Yan Qing asked.

"Of course I know that almost everyone in the mortal world burns incense and worships gods, and holds temple fairs during festivals."

"Have you ever thought about where this god came from?" Yan Qing asked again.

"I... hadn't thought about that in detail. Could there be some hidden meaning behind it?"

Yan Qing looked around and said softly, "The so-called incense is the will and belief of living beings. When the number is large enough, it can influence the secrets of heaven."

Below, it can gather spiritual energy for worshipping deities and cultivating oneself; above, it can connect with the secrets of heaven, making it easier for people to comprehend the Great Dao. The more fervent the incense offerings, the stronger the effect.

Xu Mu was surprised to hear this: "It has such a wonderful effect."

Yan Qing nodded and said meaningfully, "Incense offerings are also one of the sect's resources. Only cultivators at the Core Formation stage or above are qualified to receive incense offerings."

"So that's how it is. There's actually this connection between the mortal realm and the cultivation world..."

Any place with abundant spiritual energy belongs to what people call the cultivation world.

The mortal realm is much larger than the cultivation world. Because spiritual energy tends to accumulate there, most places become depleted of spiritual energy, turning into the land of Dharma decline.

The division between the two is similar to the boundary between forest and grassland, which is clear at a glance and very easy to define for cultivators who can sense spiritual energy.

"I only found out after I joined the sect. They would find disciples with spiritual roots through various Taoist temples in the mortal world and bring them into the sect to cultivate," Yan Qing said.

"They don't need to go to the mortal world themselves; they can learn about mortal affairs directly through the offerings made at the Taoist temple?" Xu Mu was truly shocked.

His reason for returning to the mortal realm was actually quite simple—to find a safe place to survive and develop.

This sect looks increasingly dangerous; the cultivation world is ruthless and devours people without spitting out their bones.

Having entered the mortal realm, he was not afraid of losing his lifespan and possessed the cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining, which was almost a dimensional reduction attack.

I thought it was absolutely safe, but it turns out there was this threat.

When he was traveling the mortal world before, he knew that the Taoist priests in those temples were not to be trifled with and all had some magical abilities.

Among them, summoning spirit talismans is the most classic method, used to call for help when things go wrong.

It turns out they didn't invite some ethereal god, but a powerful figure at the Core Formation stage or above... even more terrifying.

"Of course, it's impossible to know everything. Just don't cause trouble in the Taoist temple; those are the mortal temples of various sects."

Xu Mu nodded and looked at him, saying, "Senior brother, is there anything you need my help with?"

Yan Qing smiled faintly: "Junior brother is clever. I do have something to ask of you."

As he spoke, he took out a dragon-shaped jade pendant from his storage ring, which looked quite old.

"On your journey to the mortal realm, I would like to ask you to make a detour to the capital of the Sui Dynasty, and with this jade pendant as proof, have the current emperor offer incense to me."

Xu Mu raised an eyebrow: "Senior brother, your ambitions are quite grand. To get a king to order offerings—how much incense must that require? Is it really that easy?"

Yan Qing smiled and said, "Junior brother, have you forgotten? Incense offerings are also one of the sect's resources, and we must fight for them."

Xu Mu was taken aback upon hearing this, recalling the recent situation of the sect. Had it actually spread to the mortal realm?

"Such an important resource, how could it be left to a mere mortal emperor to decide? The dynasty would probably change hands the very next day, wouldn't it?"

"It's alright, you don't need to worry. Just inform the current emperor about this matter, and he will weigh the pros and cons."

Xu Mu looked troubled when he heard him say that.

"Of course I'm willing to help you with this, senior brother, but this matter... is a bit difficult. After all, I can't stay in the mortal realm for too long; my lifespan is running out."

Yan Qing snorted: "Don't worry, I will naturally reward you."

As he spoke, he took out two more items from his storage ring: a magic weapon and a jade slip.

"This is a defensive magic item that can block flying swords and magical attacks; this is an earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows you to escape easily) technique. Choose one, which do you want?"

Xu Mu's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "Senior brother, that's not very kind of you. Junior brother is leaving, and you not only don't give me a farewell gift, but you also expect me to help you. One gift is not enough."

As expected, Yan Qing smiled faintly and handed him the two items and the jade pendant: "Then take that as your agreement."

Xu Mu smiled and nodded, inspecting the magic weapon and jade slip, which were all genuine and of high quality.

This jade slip, in particular, is the best medium for recording cultivation techniques; it can be placed between the eyebrows to directly transmit the techniques.

When exchanging cultivation techniques in the Treasure Pavilion, you can only look at them; you can never take the jade slips with you.

What Yan Qing gave him was not only a technique of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magical ability), but also a high-end notebook that could be repeatedly written on, the craftsmanship of which was far superior to that of paper books.

"Don't worry, senior brother. Your affairs are my affairs. I promise to deliver the jade pendant to you and help you form your core as soon as possible," he immediately assured him.

"Yes, thank you for your trouble, junior brother. I trust your character." Yan Qing nodded with a faint smile.

What he actually wanted to do was to get involved while the sect elders were fighting.

Incense can help those in the Core Formation stage form their Nascent Soul stage, those in the Foundation Establishment stage form their Core, and even those in the Qi Refining stage.

However, with the Core Formation stage experts participating, the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages could only stand aside and therefore had no chance to receive offerings.

Yan Qing's advantage lies in his royal status, while ordinary people are ultimately subjects of the emperor, which is why he is qualified to give it a try.

Xu Mu's task was simple: to make a trip for him and deliver a message to the emperor.

He thought for a moment and said, "My royal family has a secret cave with decent spiritual energy and a spiritual spring inside. You can take some if you need it, but please don't deplete the pond to catch all the fish."

Upon hearing this, Xu Mu was even more delighted and laughed repeatedly, "Don't worry, Senior Brother, I, Xu Mu, have always been honest and trustworthy, and I am by no means a greedy person."

Yan Qing nodded: "As for the matter of the spiritual spring, you can ask someone when you get to the capital. I won't tell you."

Xu Mu nodded, naturally having no objections.

This time, he returned to the mortal realm to find a place to cultivate spiritual herbs. In the mortal realm, he could easily obtain excrement and pick up "garbage" to develop in a lewd manner.

The spiritual spring that Yan Qing mentioned is just "garbage" in the mortal world. It has its uses, but it is scattered and hard to find, so people in the cultivation world don't care about it.

When Xu Mu bought the cultivation technique, he learned from the seller about a treasure land that was suspected to be guarded by demonic beasts.

Now, with the addition of incense offerings and the spiritual spring of the Yan royal family, a quick search reveals that the resources in the mortal realm are quite considerable, making it the perfect training ground for him.

Just like the legendary Sword God of Shili Slope, who spent 10 years killing monsters in the low-level beginner village until he reached the maximum level before leaving the beginner village.

Xu Mu believed he also had that kind of perseverance.